Elliot Siegel
Born into poverty outside of Sac-Town, Elliot Siegel enlisted with the NCR Army in 2237, serving in it for most of his life. Since his enlistment, he has seen service in almost every major conflict fought by the NCR. The long years of service have worn on him making him jaded, cynical and distant. Despite this, he still maintains that the NCR is the best hope for the return of civilization and democracy to the wasteland. Biography Early Life Elliot Siegel was born to Marion and Edna Siegel in the year 2220 on a small farm outside of Sac-Town. It was said that Elliot's parents were possessed of two very disparate appearances. His mother was said to have been remarkably beautiful, and his father staggeringly ugly. Despite this the two had come together at a young age, and were said to have had a happy, and prosperous marriage throughout the duration of their lives. The Siegel's did not possess the land they tilled, instead they rented it from a local planter, handing over one-third of their crop to the landlord as payment. Despite these generous terms, the Siegel's struggled to make their payments, the soil they tilled was at best sub-marginal, and what crops they could get to grow rarely beared enough fruit to give them any sort of exchange value. As a result Marion was forced to turn to other forms of employment to keep their landlord placated. At first he tried raising heartier crops that were more adapted to harsh conditions of the wasteland such as Coyote Tail tobacco, and peppers. When these failed, he tried his hand at Brahmin ranching, and therein he found his mark. It was not the meat from the Brahmin, or their hides that brought in an income for the Siegel's, but their excrement. Elliot quickly came to supply his local community with fertilizer, increasing the yields of the surrounding farms, and making the local community quite wealthy. Around Elliot's fifth birthday the local landlord died from a heart attack, and his son, not wanting to be bothered with managing his father's estate sold off the various plots of land to their respective inhabitants, pocketed the caps and headed South towards the Hub, hoping to make his fortune in the water trading business. The Siegel's were now freeholders. Growing up, Elliot often spent most of his days assisting his father in tending to the family's Brahmin herd. Life was hard for him growing up. Ranching often demanded that he spend long stretches of his day outside, laboring under the hot sun without much in the way of refreshments. With most of his youth spent working, he was unable to ever properly attain an education or develop a social life. As a result, he approached his sixteenth birthday barely literate, and with few friends. Farm life didn't suit Elliot well, and on his seventeenth birthday, against the protests of his parents, he left home for the town of Shady Sands, seeking to join up with the fledgling New California Republic. Arriving in Shady Sands in mid-2237, Elliot enlisted almost immediately. However, his induction into the Republic, and its armed forces proved to be rougher than he had expected due to his lack of literacy, ability to write. His ignorance attracted the scorn of his fellow recruits, and he was quickly labeled a "hick" and "tribal." Angered by this taunting Elliot set out to educate himself, and with the help of his bunk mate he began to learn to properly read and write. Elliot's bunk mate was a young man by the name of Paul Friar. Raised in a Methodist town not far from the Siegel's homestead, he had been imbued from a young age with a conviction to assist his fellow man, especially those who were worse off then himself. It was this spirit of charity and Christian brotherhood that drove Paul to enlist in the NCR Army, in order to return freedom, law, and democracy to the wastes. With Paul's help, Elliot became one of the most well read members of his platoon. Following the completion of his training, Elliot's platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Harrison O'Connor, was assigned to Echo company, 2nd Battalion of the "Fighting" First Infantry Regiment. Early Army Career Elliot's company was under the overall command of Captain George Tanaka. Born among the Shi in the early 2200s within the ruins of San Francisco, Captain Tanaka was trained in the art of Karate and sword fighting at a young age, becoming adept in both pursuits by the time he entered adolescence. In the early 2220s George's mother contracted yellow fever, quickly spreading it to his father. Both succumbed to the within the space of a year, leaving George homeless. He spent much of his early youth wandering the wasteland, taking odd jobs, and doing whatever he needed to to survive. Eventually he happened upon Shady Sands and chose to enlist with the new NCR Army, quickly being selected for Officer training, graduating at the rank of Second Lieutenant in 2235. By the time Elliot joined up, he had served two combat tours in Southern California and had attained the rank of Captain. Affectionately referred to as "Takie" by his men, he was known for his tactical prowess, both in the field and outside it, and for the bravery he exemplified. There currently exists a plaque within the 1st Infantry Regiment's veteran's post commemorating the Captain. Lieutenant Harrison O'Connor was born in Shady Sands in 2216 to Liam and Anna O'Connor. Growing up in Shady Sands, Harrison received a good education, plenty of affection from his parents, and lived a life of relative luxury within the confines of the city. Much of his youth was spent trailing his Father, a member of the Shady Sands Police, around the city streets marveling at his sharp uniform, and badge upon his chest, thus when he was old enough he declared his intention to serve the people of the NCR. Encouraged by both his Father, Harrison enlisted with the NCR Army on his eighteenth birthday, and after going through basic training he served three tours patrolling the roads on the northern frontiers of NCR territory. Attaining the ranks of Second Lieutenant a week after his twenty-first birthday. Being a handsome man, Harrison never lacked in female attention. Yet despite his attractive features he lacked the charm or grace to be truly classified at a ladies man, often fumbling over words, making awkward conversation, and generally being a bore. His awkwardness did not hinder his abilities as an officer, however. Throughout his career, Harrison time and time again demonstrated his abilities as a commanding officer. His tactical and strategic prowess was only seconded by that of Captain Tanaka, eventually leading him to be promoted following the death of his superior. Elliot's squad was led by Staff Sergeant Murray Jackson. Sergeant Jackson, like many of his fellow NCOs was drawn from the outlying homesteads that grew up around Shady Sands following the formation of the Republic. A bit of a rube, Sergeant Jackson's youth, much like Elliot's, was rough and hard, being characterized by long hours being spent outside underneath the hot sun, struggling to attain even a modest yield from the deadened soil. Having had his fill of farming, Murray moved into Shady Sands at the first possible opportunity. As Elliot's squad leader, Sergeant Jackson was a competent leader, although he often lacked the ability to see the big picture, he possessed a firm grasp of small unit tactics. Police Actions Elliot's initial deployment took him to the wild wastes of Southern New California. The NCR at the time was in the midst of expanding its borders, and this had put it in conflict with many of the raider and tribal groups that inhabited the California wasteland. The First Infantry Regiment was deployed to support this expansion. The objective of the NCR was simple, expand its borders, and thereby provide a greater degree of security for the towns and settlers living within the NCR. In order to do this they needed to either convince those towns lying outside its borders, and sphere of influence, to agree to being absorbed into the NCR. Failing that, it was hoped that the presence of a large contingent of combat troops would act as a sufficient force multiplier to convice those towns who wouldn't voluntarily sign on to at least go quietly. This was the mission handed down from the NCR General Staff in Shady Sands down to the battalion, and company commands of the 1st Infantry. However, like most simple objectives, it was easier said than done. For every one town that came over to the NCR, there were two or three hostile groups that had to be subdued before the town and region surrounding it could be declared "pacified" and therefore safe for settlement and cultivation. Thus Echo company and its sister units were constantly deployed to chase around gangs of raiders, degenerate tribals, Super Mutants, or armed separatists. The last group proved to be the hardest to take on since many would be rebels were often times wealthy, ranchers or water barons who had become used to ruling over their little fiefdoms and were willing to shell out thousands of caps in order to maintain their control. Despite what was said later, being taken over by the NCR was more often then not a boon for the wasters. Becoming NCR citizens meant that they were subject to the republic's laws, and while this lead to the curtailing of certain freedoms they had previously enjoyed, they offered to them a degree of security that they hadn't experienced in the wastes. Property rights, and contracts were secured and enforced by the NCR's court system. Freedom of the press, and religion were now guaranteed, and all were subject to the rule of equal laws. This especially proved to be a welcome change of pace for many ex-wasters, many of whom had spent a majority of their lives living under the usually arbitrary rule of local magnates. With the securing of property rights and contracts, trade then became a much less risky business, insurance rates dropped, interest rates sagged for a time, and prices across the board dropped allowing as competition and specialization increased. And while being absorbed into the republic's internal division of labor certainly displaced some workers from their former employments, they were gradually reabsorbed into more productive lines of production, giving them access to higher wages, and better chances for remunerative work. As well absorption into the NCR opened up a whole host of new markets, only a handful of which were being sufficiently supplied by the still growing trading outfits, giving many local producers an outlet for their output. The Followers of the Apocalypse were still allied with the NCR at this time, and annexation into the NCR was almost immediately followed by a train of Followers doctors and teachers ready to treat the sick, inoculate the young, and instruct the locals in everything from basic english, to mathematics, and modern agricultural techniques. Thus NCR imperialism became synonymous with cheap goods, new markets, improved infrastructure and legal systems, and modern healthcare. Satisfaction with the Republic's imperialism was not universals however, as many unlucky NCR troopers later came to understand, as armed gangs of committed individualists sought to drive back the NCR and restore their own independence. And while the doctors, merchants and bueraucrats were helping to organize these new towns it was up to the army to deal with the reprobates. For the first three months of his deployment Elliot and his squad spent much of their time patrolling the roads outside of annexed towns, escorting humanitarian caravans, and chasing off gangs of raiders and outlaws. However on a few occasions the men of Echo company were called upon to help clean out some of the stouter gangs that had set themselves up in the wastes. On one such occasion they were ordered by the regional commandant, Colonel Angus Malden to clear out villages of tribals that were either too savage to domesticate, or to degenerate to instruct. The standing orders for dealing with these groups was to first seek their cooperation, and if this failed, use only the necessary amount of force needed to move them to a predetermined "resettlement area." Upon arriving at the tribe village the soldiers discovered just why the tribe had been deemed "beyond civilizing" by the scouts that had initially performed recon on their encampment. The tribals lived in a small collection of hovels, constructed out of either mud, or crudely sown together bits of animal hide. At the center of their little village stood a large boulder that had been carved into a sacrificial altar, that was covered in the gory remains of countless unlucky outsiders or captured warriors. As Lieutenant O'Connor recounted these sights as he observed them through his field glasses a call came over the radio from Captain Tanaka, ordering the company into a horseshoe formation around the towns perimeter. Following these orders, Captain Tanaka, the company executive officer First Lieutenant Gordon Worthington and the Captain's RTO Tech Sergeant Peter Sickles started towards the village, hoping to establish peaceful contact with the natives. The trio were met by the tribe's chieftain, and shaman both of whom spoke in a broken mixture of English, Spanish, and a tribal dialect that none of the men were familiar with, but according to Lieutenant Worthington's account of the event "sounded like gibberish." Captain Tanaka introduced himself and his fellow officers and immediately set into attempting to negotiate with the tribesmen. After five minutes this attempt at diplomacy broke down when the chieftain became excited and began hopping up and down saying the word "oot" over and over again. The shaman proceeded to lower his staff and the NCR delegation was then assailed by a rain of arrows from within the now deserted confines of the tribal village. The arrows didn't pose a very serious threat to the trio as they were wearing standard issue body armor, and the arrows themselves were nothing more than just sharpened sticks, many of which harmlessly bounced off the soldier's armor. The party retreated, and the men of the company returned fire on the camp. After six minutes of continous firing, the rain of arrows had ceased and the company slowly entered the camp. Strewn about the camp were the corpses of most of the tribes warriors, many still clutching their crude bows and quivers of arrows. Inside their crude homes they found even more dead, many of whom were women, old men, and children, killed in the wild fusillade. Among the dead were the tribe's chieftain and shaman. The tribals managed to briefly return the NCR's punishment when a single, wounded warrior burst from one of the hovels and buried a stone hatchet in the head of a private, splitting it down the middle, spraying his comrades with brains and blood before being gunned down. The handful of survivors were placed in irons and escorted back to the NCR's encampment. The village and the dead tribals were all put to the torch. The Company returned to camp that night. For Elliot, the operation had left no permanent mark. He had seen his fair share of death by that point, and had witnessed just how horrifically the wasteland could warp those who inhabited it, when asked about it later in life he laconically replied: "It happens." On another occasion 3rd platoon (Elliot's platoon) was broken off from the main body of the company and tasked with assisting a squad of rangers in storming a slaver hideout. Scouts, acting on intelligence acquired from escaped slaves had discovered the slaver hideout to be hidden in a cave not far from the medium-sized trade-mining town of Silverton. The assault was under the overall command of Ranger Kelso, a grizzled, old veteran who had been serving with the NCR since the 2220s. The cave was set into the side of a mountain among the lower Sierra Nevadas. The platoon was instructed to leave their helmets, canteens, and other loose equipment behind so as to minimize noise, and paint their faces black so they could blend into the night. The platoon set out that night marching to within a mile of the cave before collectively going prone and crawling the last mile, being careful to avoid roving slaver parties and sentries. When they were within sight of the cave each man quietly plucked his bayonet from its sheath and attached it to the end of his service rifle. An hour later there came a racket from the cave, and ten minutes later the unmistakable chatter of automatic weapons fire, and the crack of ranger's repeaters and carbines could be heard echoing from the cave, interspersed with the occasional thump of a grenade. Then a half hour after the firefight had begun, Lieutenant O'Connor jumped up, turned to his prone platoon and shouted, "Come on you sons a bitches!" At once the platoon rose to its feet shouting like mad men and firing from the hip. They rushed the cave entrance, gunning down the stunned sentries and blowing open the door. After securing the entrance, three men went further into the cave to assist the rangers in clearing the cave and freeing the slaves held within it. After ten minutes of frantically holding the entrance from returning slavers, the rangers and troopers emerged leading a party of some fifty freed (and armed) slaves and carrying two wounded rangers. The party then fought a fighting retreat back to their camp where reinforcements helped ward off any remaining pursuers. The raid had been an astonishing success, at the cost of two wounded, the NCR forces had killed some thirty-five slavers and wounded countless more. Additionally they had liberated fifty slaves, all of whom were resettled within the NCR, founding the town of Lazarus along the Pacific coast. These sort of patrol style engagements continued for quite some time, with the men of Echo company quickly becoming proficient at counter-insurgency operations. However, in the background of these operations, grander designs were being enacted within the government. For some time since the destruction of the Enclave oil rig, Navarro had stood as the sole remaining outpost of the Enclave. Citizens of the NCR were barred from going near it, wasters avoided it like the plague, and only a handful of veteran NCR rangers had dared to venture close to the base's perimeter. And what they reported back sent shivers down the spines of the NCR brass. The base was reported to still be bustling with Enclave troopers, clad in their eerie bug-eyed power armor, armed with all manner of high-tech killing machines, including several dozen vertibirds. Yet inexplicably the base was one day observed to have suddenly cleared out, leaving only a handful of personnel and their vertibirds on hand. Where the rest of the Enclave troopers went didn't concern the NCR brass, they were more focused upon taking advantage of the Enclave's temporary weakness to finally rid themselves of a large, and dangerous thorn in the Republic's flank. Already they had negotiated with, and gained the support of the Brotherhood of Steel in this endeavor, they followed this up by concentrating several battalions around Navarro, sending in engineers and scouts to cut paths through the base's minefield and look for chinks in the Enclave's position. It was to this new locale that Elliot and his fellow troopers were redeployed to. Navarro Marriage NCR-Brotherhood War The Mojave Willow Beach Present Personality Equipment Quotes About By Category:Characters Category:New California Republic